Artist: Live
Album Title: Birds of Pray, 6th Studio Release.
Release Date: 5/20/2003
Producer: Jim Wirt (Incubus)
Label: MCA
So one of the benefits of being a “Music Reporter” is being sent free shit every now and again. The idea is, even if I reach only an audience of 1000 people, it’s still 1000 people that might listen to what I have to say and pick up the album in question. Which is pretty cool, I suppose, getting sent free shit left and right.
So I hear like any other good Internet guy, I found this album on an ftp server and downloaded and burned it shamelessly.
Going into this report you should know: 1) I’m a huge live fan and have every studio release they’ve ever put out, and I also have their MTV Unplugged show. So, it’s a pretty safe bet that I’ll like this and 2) I have been less than impressed with their last two albums, but Ed went on record a few months ago saying this album, Birds of Pray, would be back to basics for them.
And it totally is, much to my elation.
Some details on the album. There are three versions available on Amazon (any of which any reader can totally feel free to Buy Me :) ). The standard CD, the Limited Edition CD/bonus DVD pack, and the foreign release with two extra tracks. The DVD is offering live concert footage recorded last year at the 2002 Pinkpop Festival in the Netherlands and includes live footage of Selling the Drama, Voodoo Lady, Nobody Knows, and White Discussion. The Import version sports two extra tracks. Forever May Not be Long Enough (Egyptian Dreams Remix) and a live version of Overcome. Both of these tracks will be available on the Heaven single, which was the lead-off single which has been making the rounds of the airwaves over the last few weeks. I haven’t seen a video for it which could be for one of three reasons. 1) They didn’t make one. 2) They are not garbage pop and, as such, MTV offers them no airplay. Or 3) I don’t give MTV enough time to catch said video. I leave it to the reader to decide which is which.
Now, getting into the music.
Heaven: Let’s see how many times I have to correct my typing when typing the word Heaven (2) today. This is your typical live song, with very simple guitar tracks and bass-lines that almost anyone could pick up if they have any guitar experience. As the title implies, the song is about Heaven (yes!), and is very different religious imagery than they gave in Operation Spirit (‘But what a man was 2000 years ago/means nothing at all to me today’ and TBB (And I don’t need your book). This goes forward to basically say he doesn’t need anyone to tell him Heaven exists, because he sees things on Earth that proves to him it exists. His daughter, a sunset, the beauty on the Earth that must have been created by the supreme being. Kind of an anti-priest song, I guess or maybe anti-established religion. Hm, maybe it’s not so different after all. All in all, probably their best choice for a lead off single, as it’s nice and cactchy and just a good song overall.
She: This is the “start off kind of slow and have a rockin chorus” Live song in the vein of I, Alone. As I don’t have lyrics yet, it’s kind of hard to exactly pin down what Live songs are about. Bah, who am I kidding, it’s nearly impossible to tell what Live songs are about when you HAVE the lyrics. If I had to guess, I think Ed had a kid recently and some of the lines in here. She set my soul free/and now every word she speaks to me is pure gold and with the mention of the daughter in the last song I would think it’s about her.
The Sanctity of Dreams: one of those Live songs you know is going to off the wall from the first line: Paint a moustache on the Mona Lisa. The song has a very uplifting guitar intro and it sounds like one for which Ed had to pick up the instrument. This would be one of the ones that totally lose me somewhere along the line. He’s talking about letting his instinct lead him around, and that instinct is the only thing you can trust, I think. And how no one has the rights to take away your dreams and stuff along those lines.
Run Away: On the opening to this song, I thought they finally committed Supernatural to an album, as it runs over basically the same chords. Alas, it was not to be, and Supernatual is still only available on their Unplugged. Ed sings in a falsetto on the chorus in this song, and I can’t get past that. The song is about getting tired of the fight, I think and the people he’s singing about just want to leave the lives they’re dealing with behind. The falsetto in the chorus annoys me almost enough to take away all my enjoyment of this song, but then, I’m picky.
Life Marches On: This song is based around a good opening riff and has a real upbeat sound to it. It’s seems to be about the differences between countryfolk and cityfolk and how they both think the other is dumb, and how it really doesn’t matter, because life just moves on anyway and times change. Short an inoffensive at 2:55.
Sweet Release: Slows down here for their first real ballad of the CD. Of course, based on something sad because I guess a happy ballad just doesn’t make sense. I think Ed jumps on the bad relationship bandwagon here. The chorus seems to make me think something sad just happened, maybe a breakup because in other places in the song he talks about about “love” and “we,” with the words To Better Times/Sweet Release/Take Me Now. Personally, I love the way this song goes and I can totally see this being their next single. It’s good, and I think it will speak to a lot of people.
Like I Do: One of the Live “led by the bassline” songs, like Heropsychodreamer. It’s got that spooky sound because everything is tuned so low (Drop-D, so you know they’re serious), and Ed uses his spooky-echoed voice. And a high power, fast chorus. This one is ok, but more along the “eh” vein for me. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still good, but not as good as the rest of the CD.
Everytime I See Your Face: See, now this song makes me think that Sweet Release is about any bad times, not just a breakup but whatever. Nice, standard, love song, but more upbeat and fast instead of slow. Everytime I see your face/it’s like heaven(3) opens up the gates. It’s nice, and if you’re not pissed at your significant other, it will make you smile. If you’ve ever been in love, you will know the feeling. This is one that could be popular with the 12 year old girls, so I expect to see this as a single somewhere down the lines.
Lighthouse: The opening line The Lighthouse lost it’s light on her long ago makes me wonder exactly what this song is about. I know it’s going to be a heavily symbolic song, as Live is known to do which puts me at “Well, the Lighthouse is a symbol of guidance, so she’s lost her guidance but the song just goes off on crazy symbolic tangents that I can’t follow, so I stopped trying and just enjoyed it because it’s got a good tune and good words, even if I can’t follow them.
River Town: This song reminds me of a Bob Seger song, not in words or sound but in idea. The idea of someone leaving a small town and going into something they weren’t ready or prepared for. As such, I dig it, because Bob Seger rules.
Oh yeah, this song is pretty good, too.
Out To Dry: Good, catchy chorus this is another song that would make a decent single . However it’s another where the meaning kind of gets lost on me. The name of the song is spoken in the lyrics as I’ll Never Hang you out to dry so I would presume it’s a song about never being abandoned?
Bring the People Together: This is the only one on the CD that really doesn’t do it for me and, as such, I will pretend it does not exist.
What Are We Fighting For?: This song kind of has the same opening vibe as Like I Do. It’s an anti-war song and it’s pretty good. Hey, look at that, an artist can make a statement without being an elitist dick about it go figure.
So, final tally is 13 tracks 10 I really like, 2 I kind of like, and 1 I just don’t like. That’s an easy thumbs up.
As for Ed’s claim that the disc goes back to basics for Live, it’s true. You’d be hard pressed to compare this disc to the trainwreck of sounds that was V. No rapping with DJ tricky, no random piano interludes, nothing like that. They get back to the Mental Jewelery/Throwing Copper/Secret Samadhi sound that earned them their fan base. Simple Guitar, simple bass, and semi-obscure lyrics, and just all around good music. I, for one, am happy to see them back doing what they should be doing making music I like. Another example of where growth and experimentation is not always to be honored, because it leads to shitty albums, unlike this, which is closer to their early efforts, and which is tremendous offering a bunch of single-ready songs and should be all about introducing their music to a new generation.
Maybe the spoon-fed American Idol crowd will pick up on it and realize there’s musicians out there, not pre-packaged, marketed singers.
Final Grade is based on nothing but the music as I don’t have packaging, art, extras, etc. But then, the music is most important anyway, right?
